This was another fun installment in a new to me series that even though I haven’t read it from the beginning, I have been able to follow the characters with no issues. I started reading as of the last book, but the character of Jane quickly grew on me. She seems like someone that I would get along with well since we have similar values. I like that she attends church and even reads a devotional. With the lack of religion and fear of offending people so prevalent now, this is super refreshing! It’s just another face of who Jane Marsh is: mom, fiancee to Dale, paralegal, prankster to the friends and amazing cook. I love some of the escapades she got into with her friends in this book!
There are some yummy-sounding recipes in the back that would be something the dinner club members would make. They appear to be contributions from readers and authors. I like reading the little notes at the back and saw that the author herself had worked as a paralegal, so that makes sense why she’s very knowledgeable about law matters in her writing. Enjoy!
My Goodreads review:
Just What I Kneaded by Karen C. Whalen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was only my second book I’ve read in the series, but I feel like I know the characters already, and they seem like old friends.
Jane just happened to be in a bakery when a murder was going on. She’d heard the killer’s voice but didn’t feel like it fit the main two suspects. In the meantime, she was helping her insurance adjuster friend Nash who was hoping for a promotion if he solved this case, which involved two major celebrities and possible insurance fraud.
I loved how Jane and her friends Olivia and Libby went sleuthing. I’m guessing that they’ve done this since book one, but it was fun to read about. Jane’s fiance’ Dale even helped her a little and was a huge help at the showdown with the killer. I had sort of suspected the killer, but when their alibi was given, I must have been satisfied enough to think it was someone else. The book was a little slower-paced in some places, but that’s ok because sometimes it’s nice to kick back and read about the sleuth’s normal life–in this case, her dinner club friends. But the fun thing was that dinner club always ended up talking about the case, which may or may not have scared off some potential new members.
I still intend to read this series from the beginning when real life slows down a little bit, since I want to find out about Jane and her friends from the very beginning, and how her romance with Dale started. For now I was just happy to have a little window of time for finishing this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a ARC of this book provided by the author via BookFunnel. I would like to thank the author for allowing me to do this–also for her patience when real life got busy. I did enjoy this book very much!
Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery 